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This is the audio from the January 3, 2021 sermon, “A NEW Hope”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text:  Mark 2:1-12

As we embark on a new year, many people are inclined to look back to consider the previous year then look forward with the hope that things will be different.  While 2020 has definitely given us plenty of things we would not wish to see again in the new year, the truth is that is generally the case every year.  It is in the looking ahead and looking to God that we find a hope that can make us new regardless of what our year has been like.  Paul writes and tells us that if our hope in Christ was only valid for the time we live on this earth, then we ought to be pitied above all people.  The good news is that because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus we have a hope that is new and gives us the assurance of life beyond what we experience on earth.

In this message we will look at an encounter one man, his friends, the religious leaders, and a crowd had with Jesus and see the NEW hope God wants us to live with

When we encounter Jesus, we find hope that is . . . 

• Necessary: Mark 2:1-5 — Early in the public ministry of Jesus, wherever He went a crowd was sure to gather.  That was certainly the case in today’s text — the crowd filled the house where Jesus was at and spilled out into all of the surrounding areas where people might just catch a glimpse of Jesus or hear a word of what He had to say.  Showing up a little late to the gathering was a paralytic being carried by four of his friends.  While he and his friends likely thought the thing most necessary was making this man walk, Jesus had a different idea.  When Jesus sees the faith of this man’s friends, He tells him his sins are forgiven.  While walking would soon come, the greatest need this man had was for the forgiveness of his sins.  In fact, that is the greatest need any of us have regardless of how important we may believe our other needs are.  It is in the forgiveness of sin that we find the real hope which is necessary for life eternal.
• Exclusive:  Mark 2:6-10 — Not only does our encounter with Jesus provide that which is necessary for real hope, He is the exclusive provider of what we really need.  The religious leaders gathered in the home that day were offended that Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven.  The offense wasn’t in the pointing out that this man was in need of forgiveness but rather in the exclusiveness of God alone being able to forgive sin — and they refused to believe that Jesus was God in flesh.  In agreement that only God can forgive sin, Jesus set out to show them His authority by doing what could not be disputed — making the man walk.  While it is very easy to say the words, “Your sins are forgiven”, proving that the forgiveness actually took place is virtually impossible by observation of man.  The more difficult thing to say, because it would be obvious if it worked or not, would be to tell the man to walk.  Jesus made it clear that He is the only way to the Father and He not only forgives our sins, He calls us to walk with Him as living proof He can exclusively do what we need most in providing the hope of eternal life.
• Witnessed:  Mark 2:11-12 — When the necessary hope of the forgiveness of sins meets the exclusive hope of the power or God at work within us, there out to be a visible result that the people around us can witness.  In the text we looked at today, the people caught a glimpse of this new hope because they could see the result of this formerly paralytic man’s encounter with Jesus.  Because they could see His power at work, they praised and glorified God for the mighty thing which they had witnessed.  The new hope we live with each day ought to have the same results.  People should see the transforming work of God in us and know there is such a thing as forgiveness of sins.  I believe this is why Peter tells us to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us.  When God does what is necessary, as only He can, people should see us walking with Him in a way that catches their attention.  It is this witnessed hope that carries the message of Jesus to the world and offers to them the same NEW hope that we have found.

As you consider the new year, how hopeful are you?  When you consider all the things you believe are necessary for the new year to be successful, is forgiveness at the top of the list?  As you seek hope in a hopeless world, are you committed to Jesus as being the only way, truth, and life that can bring hope that lasts beyond life on this earth.  As a Christ-follower, are you living in a way that others can witness the result of a new hope residing in you?  Are you sharing with them the reason for this hope that you have — which is the hope that they need?  I pray that each one of us would look ahead and pursue a NEW hope each day that God gives us life here on this earth. 

In prayer,
Tom

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This is the audio from the December 27, 2020 sermon, “The Gift of WISDOM”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text:  James 3:13, Matthew 2:1-12

While James tells us that God is gracious in giving wisdom to all who ask, he also makes it clear that wisdom is made known by what we do.  In Jeremiah, God tells us to look for the ancient paths and find the good way to walk — presumably by learning from the wisdom of those who walked this earth before us.  The wisdom which comes from God is very different from the wisdom of the world and we would do well to find the wisdom that is not self-seeking and self-promoting.

When we seek the wisdom found in Jesus, we find the gift of . . . 

• Wonder: Mark 9:15 — Wherever Jesus went on this earth, people were filled with wonder.  From the wonder expressed by the shepherds and Magi at His birth to the wonder of the teachers in the temple when Jesus was twelve to the wonder often expressed as He taught and performed miracles, wonder was a natural reaction to the Son of God dwelling among mankind.  It is this element of wonder that causes us to realize that God’s ways are not always explainable — nor should they be.  God’s gift of wisdom allows us to marvel at the mysteries contained within creation and within His Word.
• Insight:  Acts 4:13 — There are elements of wisdom found throughout scripture that seem to elude the grasp of many of the most studious minds.  There is something unique about spending time with Jesus that gives a person insight that could never be gained in any other way.  Even when the religious leaders did not like the message being shared by the apostles, they could help but take note of the only possible explanation for the insight being shared was that these men had been with Jesus.  Imagine what it would be like to have wisdom that is filled with great insight because you are spending time with Jesus.
• Service:  Mark 10:45 — Wisdom is often best seen in what we do, rather than in what we say.  The wisdom described by James is something that is seen in the good deeds which come from humility.  When we look to Jesus for the gift of wisdom He would offer, we find that He lives a life that is all about serving others.  It is by humbling ourselves and finding ways to serve others that we gain entrance into their life to the point that God’s wisdom can be seen in us.  It is within this gift of service that we find wisdom by doing unto others what we would have them do unto us.
• Delight:  Matthew 12:18 — God’s desire has always been that mankind would be delighted with Him even as He delights in us.  Godly wisdom helps us to delight in the Lord as we learn the secret of Him being enough for a life of contentment.  Our level of delight in life is often directly related to our learning the secret of contentment — whether in plenty or in want.  We ought to be filled with great delight as we realize that God delights over us with singing.  In a similar fashion to a parent or grandparent giving gifts to children which are a delight to both the giver and receiver, God’s gift of wisdom to us should be a delight to Him and to us.
• Obedience:  John 15:10 — It should come as no surprise that when Jesus wanted to define what a wise person looked like He told a story.  We tell it to our children as the story of the wise and foolish builders — we even have a children’s song to tell the story for us.  In it, the wise person is the one who hears the Word of God and does what it says.  For most of us, obedience was learned as a desire to avoid the consequences of disobedience.  As we grow in wisdom, our obedience ought to grow more and more out of a heart of love.  The Bible teaches that as God’s Son walking the earth in human flesh, Jesus learned obedience to His Father and ought to serve as our example in every way.
• More:  John 16:12 — Just as they do in all of the TV commercials for the “As Seen On TV” products, we’ve reached the point where I say, “But wait!  There’s more!”  Accepting the gift of wisdom from God should lead us to a realization that there is more than we will ever know or understand.  As Jesus taught His disciples, He knew there was a limit to what they could grasp — and even a limit to what they should be able to grasp.  The Holy Spirit would be sent after the resurrection of Jesus to help with some of the “More”, but even with an indwelling of God’s Spirit there are elements of God and His nature that are purposefully kept a mystery to us.  The gift of wisdom acknowledges that the ways of God are higher, better, nobler, and more perfect than any of the ways of man.

So, as we consider the gift of wisdom which has been offered to us, the question to consider is what are you going to do with that gift?  Godly wisdom is not found in the accumulation of knowledge, but in the application of what God has revealed through His Word, His Spirit, and through our times of prayer. 

In prayer,
Tom